Director Keith literally took to heart Christian teachings about poverty and social justice ‘to feed the hungry and help the poor’ when 20 years ago he volunteered in a soup kitchen with the Salvation Army.
Key Fund invested £30k to The Bridge, Leicester to set up a social enterprise, and convert an ice-cream trailer into a coffee wagon.
Who
Based in one of the most deprived areas of Leicester since 2009, The Bridge Homelessness to Hope support those who are marginalised within the city.
The Bridge aims to bring about long-lasting change to an individuals circumstances, offering services such as washing facilities, food and drinks, clothing and case work support.
The Challenge
As other services closed or moved to different locations to continue to service the huge need, Leicester still had the highest homelessness count in the country after London. A permanent base was desperately needed to run a support hub.
They found premises on the St Matthews estate near the city centre, which is in one of the most deprived areas of the country. They needed funding to cover core costs as well as expand offerings by converting vehicles into coffee wagons to increase the reach of the support they had to offer.
